Summer is almost over! What better way to hold onto the season than to reminisce on our favorite summer soundtracks. Kyle Schultz and Nadia Paiva join Kiel Hauck to break down some of their favorite albums to spin during summer and discuss what makes for great summer music. As follow-up on our Summer Soundtracks series, the trio chat about great releases from bands like Cobra Starship, Lydia, Jimmy Eat World, Paramore, and much more. Listen in!

There are two incredibly distinct versions of Billie Joe Armstrong. One writes rock operas that flawlessly meld biting, poetic verses and savage critiques of government. The other just loves writing pop songs. The one constant between the two is that no matter who holds the pen, Armstrong is going to belt out some absolutely killer songs designed to stay in your head. Love Is for Losers by The Longshot, his newest side project, is a band that has fun with rock and isn’t crippled with expectation.

The first thing anyone who listens to The Longshot will wonder, is why this wasn’t released as a Green Day album. The obvious answer is that Green Day is a group that seems to be aiming for higher goals. Their experiment with the ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré! trilogy showed that following up several critically acclaimed rock operas is difficult when the band just wants to release some pop songs without the depth of American Idiot or 21st Century Breakdown. Love Is for Losers is the answer.

These songs are fun. Incredibly catchy, and packing the energy of Armstrong’s signature power chords, The Longshot is power pop at its finest. These are party songs that feel instantly familiar to anyone who has been a fan of Armstrong for more than a minute. Traces of each of his ventures can be heard in the album. “Taxi Driver” beckons the ghost of Green Day circa Nimrod. “Turn Me Loose” channels Foxboro Hot Tubs, and I’m sure you can find traces of Pinhead Gunpowder and some Bille + Norah if you look for it.

Bandmates Jeff Matika (bass), David S. Field (drums) and Kevin Preston (guitar) deliever some killer performances, but it is almost impossible not to compare them to Tre Cool or Mike Dirnst. They are obviously influenced by the other members of Green Day, and give as sincere an homage as is possible. While their performance is worthy of the influences, they give Armstrong a chance to write pop songs free of the weight of his main band on his shoulders.

What does stand out is how Armstrong’s songwriting formula shifts just slightly for The Longshot. There is a slight influence of southern rock in the guitar (“Cult Hero”). Hand claps litter the verses (“The Last Time”, “Soul Surrender”) and guitar solos run rampant just because they can. The Longshot also remind me that I miss classic Green Day, before they took on their political edge. Most of these songs could have been pulled off of Nimrod, and it’s actually refreshing to hear something like that again.

Perhaps the only downside (or upside, if you prefer) is that there is nothing lyrical to bite into. These are party songs, designed to be easy to sing along to without thinking about it. For example, the title track, “Love is for Losers” has a chorus of, “Hey kid, love is for losers now, alright / Stupid kid, you’re a loser now, alright”. While it’s nice to be able to sing along to literally any of these songs midway through the first listen, it’s upsetting to know that it is just a tease of Armstrong as a writer.

Love Is for Losers isn’t a reinvention, because it doesn’t need to be. It’s an excuse to write classic power pop songs. The Longshot is essential listening for fans of Green Day. While it is disappointing that the wit and anger that fuels Armstrong’s best writing is nowhere to be seen, songs like these are rarely written anymore. Love Is for Losers may not be anyone’s favorite album, but it’s impossible not to enjoy.

3.5.5

by Kyle Schultz

Kyle Schultz is the Senior Editor at It’s All Dead and has worked as a gaming journalist at Structure Gaming. He lives in Chicago and wrote this while attempting to eat an apple. It fell off of the table after one bite and rolled under the couch, because why wouldn’t it do just that?

On our latest episode of It’s All Dead, Kiel Hauck is joined by PopMatters Interviews Editor Evan Sawdey to discuss the art of the album review and the role of pop music in 2017’s social conversations. Evan also shares stories of some of his best (and worst) interviews at PopMatters, how the site has retained its cultural relevance and impactful voice through the years, and tells us about his podcast, The Chartographers. Listen in!

Perhaps more than ever, our top 10 songs of the year ran a gamut of emotions: heartbreak, social outcry, bittersweet, hopeful. In a year as up and down as 2016, it only makes sense. These songs cover an array of subject matter, but each one showcases the brilliance of the artist involved.

It’s always hard to pull 10 songs out of the context of a greater narrative and subjectively place them on a list. Nevertheless, we found ourselves reaching for the repeat button on the regular when these tunes graced our speakers. Take a look (and a listen) below to some of our favorite tracks from 2016.

10. Emarosa – “Helpless”

Smack-dab in the middle of the most smoldering and delicate album of Emarosa’s career lies “Helpless” – a bounding track chock full of energy and pop sensibility. On 131, a broken Bradley Walden fights for a lover with gentle pleas and fragile reflections before boiling over in this moment of heat. “If your body’s broken, love, your heart is helpless” he belts on the track’s chorus, using every inch his heralded range. Emarosa has made a career out of defying expectations and battling against the grain of vanilla song structures, but on “Helpless”, they dive headfirst into the most accessible song of their career – and the payoff is delightful. – Kiel Hauck

9. Honeyblood – “Ready for the Magic”

Although I just discovered Honeyblood within the last month, “Ready for the Magic” is a song that utterly captured my attention and hasn’t let go. It’s a perfect punk rock single – aggressive, loud and hypnotically catchy. For a garage punk song from a two-member act, it has more heart and energy than most bands with a fuller roster. A practice in simplicity, “Ready for the Magic” proves that punk rock doesn’t need to constantly redefine itself to be relevant; it just has to be good. – Kyle Schultz

8. Architects – “Gone with the Wind”

Less than three months after the release of All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, the scene received the terrible news of Tom Searle’s passing. As lead guitarist and songwriter for British metalcore giants Architects, Searle left us with one final masterpiece, which took on a completely new and powerful meaning in light of his three-year battle with cancer. “Gone with the Wind” is a powerhouse of a song, relenting ever so slightly for the brittle lines of, “A sickness with no remedy except the ones inside of me”. Not only is the track a lesson in mechanical metalcore perfection, it’s a heartbreaking gaze inside a terrible one-sided fight. “I remember when you said to me, ‘My friend, hope is a prison’”. – KH

7. Green Day – “Bang Bang”

“Bang Bang” is easily the best single Green Day has put out in over a decade, as well as the most aggressive. The entire song is a tip of the hat to the band’s style at the beginning of their careers. It’s also one of the most controversial in the genre, as it tackles the subject of being a mass shooter. A hybrid of classic punk and 20 years of writing the most aggressive rock known to man, “Bang Bang” managed to silence anyone who has complained about the band’s evolving sound over the last decade while still pushing the band to new extremes. – KS

6. The 1975 – “Somebody Else”

Once you dig past the shiny surface of self-deprecating satire and proverbial winks at the camera, I Like it When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It is truly an album filled with a deep sincerity. Perhaps no track on the album embodies Matt Healy’s candid struggle as well as “Somebody Else” – a syrupy, synth-driven slow jam straight out of the George Michael playbook. Not only does “Somebody Else” solidify The 1975 as the leaders of the pack in an age of throwback pop influence, it covers subject matter with which we’re all painfully familiar. Even so, Healy takes it one step further, digging deep into the bitterness of seeing your lover with another: “Get someone you love / Get someone you need / Fuck that, get money”. – KH

5. Blink-182 – “Los Angeles”

The most experimental song on California, “Los Angeles” is a bridge between Blink-182 and vocalist Matt Skiba’s other love, Alkaline Trio. Meshing the sounds of ska, R&B and alternative punk , “Los Angeles” is a distinct track that begins as an Alkaline song before exploding into one of the most Blink-182 sounding bridges ever written. It’s proof that Blink-182, though making a return to their original sound, are still pushing themselves sonically. The result is one of the most memorable songs of the band’s career. – KS

4. A Tribe Called Quest – “We the People”

Released on the very week of one of the most startling and terrifying presidential elections in memory, We Got it From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service not only served as the acclaimed return of one of hip hop’s legendary acts, it served as the perfect protest music for the moment. Highlighting the affair is “We the People”, which finds Q-Tip mocking the despicable notion that anyone classified as “other” doesn’t belong, beginning a chorus for the ages with, “All you black folks, you must go / All you Mexicans, you must go”. It’s an anthem of dissent in a moment that left so many speechless, while simultaneously serving as a beautiful hello and goodbye to a dynamic duo. R.I.P Phife. – KH

3. Brian Fallon – “A Wonderful Life”

The lead single from his solo album, Painkillers, “A Wonderful Life” is the essential thesis for an album tracing the edges of the American Dream. The song is immediately memorable, linking the distance between Gaslight Anthem’s rock sensibilities and Fallon’s solo acoustic direction. The drum’s never ending march, the uplifting guitar, Fallon’s hopeful lyrics and the gang “Oh oh oh oh” vocals never become tiring. Though Fallon’s past work would never be described as dark or depressing, “A Wonderful Life” makes a distinct mark as a song about dreams and hope while cherishing its own bright sound. – KS

2. Kanye West – “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1”

You could easily argue “Ultralight Beam” as the track from The Life of Pablo deserving of this spot on our list. A wave of gospel accompanied by the verse of the year, courtesy of Chance the Rapper, showcases Ye as the elevator of new voices. It’s the album’s following track, “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” that displays his more complicated and troubling side. Future’s intro of “If Young Metro don’t trust you, I’m gon’ shoot you” immediately crashes into Kid Cudi’s opening chorus of “Beautiful morning, you’re the sun in my morning, babe”. The track is the ultimate display of West’s duality, morphing from a tasteless story about meaningless sex with a model into a fast-paced confessional booth just moments later. Before we can react, Kanye has already predestined our response: “Everybody gonna say something / I’d be worried if they said nothing”. – KH

1. Yellowcard – “Rest in Peace”

The last great Yellowcard single, “Rest in Peace” is perfect in construction. A straightforward rock song, the track was released alongside a statement that Yellowcard would be disbanding after the release of their self-titled album. Featuring a music video highlighting their career and inviting fans to see them off with one final tour, “Rest in Peace” will always be a symbol of the band’s love of what they accomplished and their loyal fans. With Sean Mackin’s violin leading the charge, Ryan Key’s sprawling vocals, and a swelling guitar solo, “Rest in Peace” tackles everything that made Yellowcard one of the best bands in rock while marking one of the most memorable send offs in music. – KS

Kiel Hauck is the editor in chief at It’s All Dead. Over the past decade, he has been a contributor for multiple online and print publications and was most recently an editor at PopMatters. Kiel currently resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife and their imaginary pet, Hand Dog. You can follow him on Twitter.

In 2016, the concept of an album became more ambiguous than ever. For some, it meant a collection of songs not for sale, but presented as a streaming mixtape. For others, it was a full multimedia experience across multiple platforms. In some cases, it was an unfinished product, subject to revisions as time passes.

Still, the concept of absorbing a musical experience, and the wonder that experience brings, remains constant. There’s little argument surrounding the many downfalls and frustrations that 2016 brought our way, but even in the midst of disturbance, we found solace in the music below. These albums not only spoke to our hearts and made sense of the world around us, in some cases, they provided a much needed escape.

Without further ado, the top 10 albums of 2016:

Green Day – Revolution Radio

Revolution Radiorestored the legacy of Green Day. Cohesive, poetically political and loud, Revolution Radio is the ultimate summation of the band’s last decade. Leading the charge with one of their biggest and best singles in years (“Bang Bang”), Revolution Radio forgoes the rock opera format, but maintains the political defiance that only Billie Joe Armstrong can pen. A masterful mix of aggressive punk and some of the poppiest songs the band has written (“Youngblood”, “Still Breathing”), Revolution Radio masks the undertones of classic rock that made 21st Century Breakdown so distinctive and makes each track feel like a callback to their entire career. – Kyle Schultz

Beyoncé – Lemonade

In the spirit of making Lemonade from lemons, Beyoncé used 2016 as an opportunity to speak on life’s ills. Lemonade is at once deeply personal and relatable – an album that speaks to a very specific situation while being unafraid to reach beyond, becoming something political and powerful in the process. From the deep burn of “Pray You Catch Me” and “Don’t Hurt Yourself” to the mighty declarations within “Freedom” and “Formation”, Beyoncé delivers catharsis in a variety of vehicles. Lemonade is not only her most diverse collection of songs – it’s also her boldest artistic statement, embracing her identity in the face of affliction. – Kiel Hauck

Real Friends – The Home Inside My Head

Though Real Friends have been a very well collected and open band for years, The Home Inside My Head is their first great record. Establishing the band as one of the defining pop punk acts of the day, vocalist Dan Lambton’s open lyricism not only makes emo cool again, it takes a brutal look at the struggle with depression and loneliness in ways most of their peers will never touch. Though The Home Inside My Head features songs about girls, the thematic setting of coping with and understanding mental battles paints them in a light that finds Lambton trying to discover if his relationships are, in fact, crumbling apart, or if he’s disillusioned enough to not recognize that everything might be okay outside of his own perception. This is the record that marked Real Friends as one of the great bands of the pop punk revival. – KS

Saosin – Along the Shadow

It only took 13 years for Anthony Green to reunite with his original brethren in Saosin, but boy, oh boy, was it worth the wait. The post-hardcore giants had plenty of time to craft what very well may be their final effort, but Along the Shadow puts to shame every band that attempted to follow in their footsteps. From Alex Rodriguez’s fury behind the drum kit to Beau Burchell’s squealing guitar riffs, the album truly feels like the perfect homecoming for Green’s signature croon. The band tries their hand at a few new tricks, but by and large, this record is about perfecting an already impeccable craft. “Our days it pays to keep from burning out / You used to care so much”, Green wails on “Control and the Urge to Pray”. If it’s a subtle nod at our collective need for nostalgia and comfort, so be it. Along the Shadow is a damn fine record, even without the history. – KH

Blaqk Audio – Material

Material is the Blaqk Audio album I’ve waited nine years for: Though Bright Black Heaven was a good album, it sounded dated by the time of its release. Material makes its mark as the most cohesive Blaqk Audio release, and Jade’s most diverse sounding in terms of writing. Thematically, one of Davy Havok’s darkest, Material manages to find the band’s poppiest moments (“First to Love”) and their most exploratory (“Annointed”). Where many electronic groups run the risk of sounding too similar to themselves, much less their peers, Blaqk Audio have forged their own stake in the genre deeper than most anyone else. – KS

The 1975 – I Like it When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It

Spurned by boy band comparisons, Manchester’s The 1975 went all in on their pop-drenched sophomore effort, I Like it When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It. What was once black and white is now awash in pink, fluorescent light. What was once aloof is now center stage and pleading for attention. Matthew Healy has become one of the most brilliant frontmen in rock, with his flair for the dramatic eclipsed only by his deep sincerity. Just as quickly as tracks like “Love Me” cause you to smirk, “If I Believe You” and “Nana” trigger a gasp. I Like it When You Sleep is deeply troubled and full of existential dread, but damn if it’s not an absolute blast to listen to. – KH

Brian Fallon – Painkillers

One of the biggest surprises of the year, Painkillersmanaged to completely revive Brian Fallon in ways most artists never see. Though Gaslight Anthem are easily one of the best bands of the last decade, it’s hard to argue that they didn’t sound tired on their last album. Fallon’s solo debut manages to capture the essence of a classic record while pushing a unique sound blending Americana and pop. Most importantly (and especially if you see him live), you can feel how much Fallon enjoyed himself writing the record. It’s one of the most impressive solo debuts of any artist, and one of the few albums where nearly every song should be a single. – KS

Chance the Rapper – Coloring Book

“If one more label try to stop me / It’s gon’ be some dreadhead n****s in the lobby”. Chance the Rapper needs not what labels have to offer, paving his own way in his own way in 2016. What began with the most breathtaking verse of the year on Kanye’s “Ultralight Beam” quickly turned into a coming out party for the ages with the release of Coloring Book. From indie darling to hip hop royalty, Chance battled against a year of frustration by celebrating the joy of being alive. “Man, I swear my life is perfect, I could merch it / If I die, I’ll prolly cry at my own service” he gleefully proclaims on “All We Got”. Chance’s positivity (and smile) is contagious – one spin of Coloring Book and you’re hooked. – KH

Blink-182 – California

Californiais everything I’ve wanted from Blink-182 for over a decade. It embraces the fun aesthetic of pop punk, experiments with itself and tackles the more uncomfortable moments of the band’s last few years (“San Diego”). Most importantly, it sounds like the band themselves love it. The classic throwbacks (“She’s Out of Her Mind”) stand as tall as the more experimental moments (“Los Angeles”) without sounding as displaced or divisive as some of the past few albums. Matt Skiba makes an almost perfect debut sharing vocal duties with Mark Hoppus. Most importantly, for a band rediscovering themselves after such a tumultuous decade and learning to move forward with a new member for the first time, California marks a defiant line in the sand that gives faith to a loyal fanbase who has waited for something like this. In what might be one of the great comeback stories in music, Blink-182’s future, for once, is inexplicably exciting. – KS

Frank Ocean – Blonde

In a year in which album releases were anything but traditional, Frank Ocean struck like a thief in the night. First, it was the streaming audio/visual experience of Endless, followed shortly by pop up shops selling Boys Don’t Cry magazines with hidden CDs inside. By the time Blonde finally hit the masses in late August, it was hard to know what to expect of an album four years in the making.

At its core, Blonde is a meandering blend of sexuality and existential philosophy that moves at its own pace. Frank’s intoxicating voice couples perfectly with his own sense of melancholy, inviting us into his most personal meditations without fear. Blonde is brave, to be sure, but it’s also the collective therapy session we needed in the wake of 2016. Who knows when Frank Ocean will return – for now, we’ve got plenty to chew on. – KH

Kiel Hauck is the editor in chief at It’s All Dead. Over the past decade, he has been a contributor for multiple online and print publications and was most recently an editor at PopMatters. Kiel currently resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife and their imaginary pet, Hand Dog. You can follow him on Twitter.

Absolutely no one can make a comeback quite like Green Day. Though the band have released quite a few of the most influential punk rock albums of the last few decades, the Uno, Dos, Tre experiment seemed to have set them back a few steps. The triple album set felt slapped together, brandishing an album’s worth of great songs spread between two records’ worth of B-sides and fluff. Revolution Radio is a return to form that manages to scale the mountain of expectation set by the band’s best albums: Dookie, American Idiot and arguably, 21st CenturyBreakdown, while cutting out the fat.

Revolution Radio is the band’s most cohesive album in nearly a decade; shorter and easier to digest than the great political operas Billie Joe Armstrong has written, the album is the perfect hybrid of the classic punk rock that made the band a worldwide phenomenon in the 90’s, and the flame tongued political warfare that arguably made them even more famous in the mid-2000’s. Revolution Radio finds the sweet groove between the rippling wall of power chord studded punk rock that Green Day made a signature sound, and the sweet taste of classic rock that found form on 21st Century Breakdown, the last great album they put out.

While Billie Joe doesn’t delve into the rock opera portion of storytelling for this newest outing, his heart is still in the same place. The result is an album that manages to take deep jabs at the politics of America, while retaining the spirit of the disenfranchised punk that personified the group early in their career.

If you know the band at all, then you already know what to expect: Billie Joe Armstrong’s guitar is a sound of nature itself. Wave after wave of his harsh power chords somehow create the most aggressive punk rock and the jauntiest pop songs known to man (“Revolution Radio”). Mike Dirnt’s bass guitar give the songs the backbone to propel them above their peers in every way, rounding out Armstong’s guitar in full sound. Tre Cool’s drumming is prolifically astute, comparable to Blink 182’s Travis Barker – not in style by any means, but that his work can draw you into the song more than the guitar can at times.

Lead single “Bang Bang” has gotten a lot of coverage of late as being written from the perspective of a mass shooter (“Bang bang! Give me fame! / Shoot me up to entertain / I am a semi-automatic lonely boy”). It is also the hardest song on the album, sporting an unrelenting wall of sound, rounded by a bouncing bass line and thundering drumming that reflects the chaotic march and tension of the act. With backing haunts of “hoorah” against the lyrics of “I want to be a celebrity martyr, the leading man in my own private drama”, “Bang Bang” brings attention to the crisis of the mass shooter as much as it does mock those individuals for falsely glamorizing the act.

“Revolution Radio” sounds (to me) like a sister song to American Idiot’s “Letterbomb” in theme if not sound. The song calls for rage, and illustrates an image of destruction while calling for truth amidst a revolution. The song sets the theme for the album, setting the pace for heavy punk guitar set against Armstrong’s poppy voice and antagonistic lyrics.

At this point in their career, it has become a joke that “Green Day songs sound the same,” but the joy in the band is hearing how they find new ways to construct their music. Opening track “Somewhere Now” borrows heavily from the classic rock aesthetic of 21st Century Breakdown, beginning with a rhythmic acoustic guitar before blasting off. Singing, “I’m running late to somewhere now I don’t want to be / Where the future and promises ain’t what it used to be / I never wanted to compromise or bargain with my soul / How did life on the wild side ever get so dull?”, Armstong seems to ask himself how punk rock became so neutral. The song keeps tempo and finds a balance between the guitar with a flourish of backing vocals and sleigh bells. The song is a perfect blend of the band calling back to one of their best albums and experimenting to make something unlike anything else on the album.

“Say Goodbye” sounds aesthetically like a spiritual successor to “East Jesus Nowhere” in terms of Tre Cool’s beat, and Armstrong’s critique on police shootings d0 just as much to throw him deeper into spirituality as “East Jesus Nowhere” did to dismiss it. “Violence on the rise / Like a bullet in the sky / Oh Lord have mercy on my soul / Kindred spirits sing for the sick and suffering.”

“Forever Now” continues the tradition of the band constructing a massive operatic song in several parts that has appeared on every project for the last decade. Much in the way that “Jesus of Suburbia” set the story of American Idiot, “Forever Now” caps off theme of Revolution Radio. Where opener “Somewhere Now” asked how the punk rock lifestyle became so dull and seemed a call to arms, “Forever Now” embraces the sound of pure punk chaos while Armstrong sings the melancholy of being a rock star in this day and age compared to where he started. “My name is Billie and I’m freaking out / I thought before I was, now I can’t really figure it out / I sit alone with my thoughts and prayers, screaming my memories as if I was never there”, before shifting tempo and theme to “If this is what you call the good life, I want a better way to die”. The song shares several themes and guitar riffs from “Somewhere Now”, with everything between supporting the acknowledgment that political punk rock is a dying art form.

Revolution Radio is the best of Green Day. There are as many call backs to their best works as there are forays into territory unknown. It’s a political album that allows enough room to find love with those who were turned away with the war against Bush in 2004. It sounds like the classic band that set the punk world on fire 20 years ago as much as it does a band decades into their career, pushing their boundaries while acknowledging who they are and being damn proud of it. Where the band may have stumbled on their triple disc experiment, Revolution Radio rights the ship and sets the course for the rest of their third comeback from the brink.

4.5/5

by Kyle Schultz

Kyle Schultz is the Senior Editor at It’s All Dead and has worked as a gaming journalist at Structure Gaming. He lives in Chicago and loves Green Day more than certain family members. That said, he realizes that Uno, Dos, Tres was not the best of times. But he listens to them. Oh, how does he listen to those records with his ears and a heart of love. Even so… “Kill the DJ”? Really? Ugh…

King for a Day

Say what you want, but no one knows how to throw a curveball like Green Day. American Idiot not only reinvented a band everyone thought was done, 21st Century Breakdown proved that it wasn’t just a fluke and provided two of the finest rock albums this century. While the ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre! trilogy met a more lukewarm reception, the band has made a career out of dropping masterpieces when no one is looking.

While I don’t expect their next album to impact rock the way American Idiot did, I do expect the band to have learned from the mistakes made with the trilogy and produce a highly polished and focused effort. While the trilogy felt like classic Green Day, with fun lyrics and loose, poppy songwriting, there’s a moderate to good chance that this will be another political album, especially given the never ending and escalating number of political scandals, elections and police scrutiny. It’s prime material for Billie Joe Armstrong to mine from.

There is the argument that all of their albums tend to sound similar, but if they changed their sound much people would bitch just as much in the other direction. With the American Idiot Broadway show under his belt, there is plenty for Armstrong to experiment with now on other projects, and he has a knack for writing rock operas. There’s no indication that this is the case so far, but a boy can dream.

Regardless, a national arena tour is much overdo from the band. Green Day put on the single best live performance I have ever seen, and I look forward to seeing them again every time they come even remotely close to wherever I happen to be.

Love them or hate them, new Green Day releases tend to be events in the rock community that forces the mainstream radio to shine a light on punk rock again, no matter how brief.

Long live the kings.

by Kyle Schultz

Kyle Schultz is the Senior Editor at It’s All Dead and has worked as a gaming journalist at Structure Gaming. He lives in Chicago and nine hours to Detroit to see Green Day play a show. How the hell is it that far away? Geography is a horibble science

There’s something about a great opening track that can set the tone for an entire album. Likewise, a killer closer can bring things full circle and act as the perfect bookend to a great record. On this episode of the official It’s All Dead Podcast, Kiel and Kyle break down their favorite album openers and closers of all time. Listen in and share some of your favorites in the replies!

On this episode of the official It’s All Dead Podcast, Kiel Hauck and Kyle Schultz break down their favorite albums turning 10 years old in 2014. The discussion includes classic releases from My Chemical Romance, Underoath, Green Day, Taking Back Sunday, Relient K, New Found Glory and much more. Listen in!

If you’re like us, the first weeks of warm weather and sunny skies provide the perfect opportunity to drive with the windows down and the stereo cranked up. What better way to celebrate the beginning of the spring and summer months than with pop punk blaring from the speakers?

Believe it or not, there was a time when listening to your favorite pop punk songs didn’t include downloading the latest single from iTunes or queuing up a playlist from Spotify. Instead, it meant inserting your favorite CD or cassette tape into the stereo and starting from track one.

10. The Fratellis – “Henrietta”

“Henrietta” by the Fratellis is an energetic romp that starts off Costello Music, an album full of singles. From the crisp slap of the high hat, the baritone sax acting as bass and the rickety guitar chords, the song never takes itself seriously and builds the energy right up until the very end. It’s one of the few songs I can think of that has a solo of the band members shouting “Wa wa wa waaaa”, only to be followed by the pub-rock lyrics of, “Clean out the bank and bump off your daddy, you can come live with us amongst the has beens and the addicts”. – Kyle Schultz

9. Relient K – “Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry”

Back in the day, Relient K were known as the corny goofballs of the pop punk scene. With Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right, But Three Do, the band turned the corner towards a more serious sound, while still keeping the cheekiness that made them so fun to begin with. “Chap Stick” is the perfect example, as the song celebrates one of the greatest of all summertime traditions: a trip to the theme park. Vocalist Matt Theissen even laments losing his phone “to the lake beneath the Batman ride”. It’s a song about youth, summer and the awkward relationships that come along with both. Theissen ends the song with his infamous line, “I don’t want to be perceived the way I am / I just want to be perceived the way I am”. – Kiel Hauck

8. My Chemical Romance – “Helena”

“Helena” became one of the oddest singles to dominate MTV, mostly due to the hypnotizing umbrella dances amidst a funeral, and introduced the world to My Chemical Romance. What it lacks in the polish of MCR’s later work, it makes up for in raw punk energy and Gerard Way’s gorgeous crooning. It’s atmospheric, creepy and commanding as Way sings, “So long and goodnight, so long and goodnight”; a fitting end to a season of energy. – KS

7. MxPx – “Middlename”

“Emotion is my middle name!” Likely one of the most famous opening lines of any pop punk album, these lyrics, courtesy of Mike Herrera, kick off Life in General, one of pop punk’s seminal albums. Driven by the fast-paced drumming of Yuri Ruley, “MIddlename” is a definitive example of the golden age of pop punk, combining the perfect emotional blend of confusion, anger and determination. MxPx has always had a knack for crafting upbeat, in-your-face tunes and “Middlename” is the match strike that ignites an album that bands would be replicating for more than a decade. – KH

6. Green Day – “American Idiot”

“American Idiot” is a quintessential summer song: loud, catchy and extremely pronounced. For being a song with such a simple melody, the chorus of, “Don’t want to be an American idiot, one nation controlled by the media / Information age of hysteria, it’s calling out to idiot America” is legendary. Simply put, it is a song designed from the ground up to blow out car speakers and demand fist pumps in the putrid humidity. If there’s anything that can keep spirits up in the heat, it’s the song that helped relaunch Green Day’s career. – KS

5. Fall Out Boy – “Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today”

No, we’re not the types to go on and on about how Take This To Your Grave is Fall Out Boy’s best album and everything since has fallen short. However, there’s no doubt that “Mick” is an absolutely killer opening track. From the opening dial tone to the Stump’s belting of “around your throat” to close out the song, it’s a blast of nostalgia from beginning to end. Along with its upbeat feel, the song showcases some of Wentz’ most potent songwriting, including the infamous line, “Let’s play this game called when you catch fire I wouldn’t piss to put you out”. – KH

4. Saves the Day – “At Your Funeral”

“At Your Funeral” by Saves the Day is without a doubt one of the most well known songs in the scene. With the slow build up of twangy plucked strings leading to the brutal ending and shaking guitars, the song is a slow build that ends in absolute melodic madness. For as dark as the lyrics can be, the song is so upbeat and poppy, it’s impossible to not be happy or sing-a-long as soon as the opening sentence drudges out of Chris Conley’s mouth, “This song will become the anthem of your underground”. – KS

3. All Time Low – “Weightless”

The guys in All Time Low were facing a rather big moment in their careers upon the release of their third full length release in 2009, Nothing Personal. Would the band keep the momentum that had propelled them to the forefront of the pop punk scene or hit a speed bump that would send the band crashing back to reality. With the album’s opening track, “Weightless”, one thing was crystal clear – All Time Low was here to stay. The epitome of a summer anthem, this song had just he right amount of pep and positive energy to push the band over the top. Vocalist Alex Gaskarth’s “Maybe it’s not my weekend, but it’s gonna be my year” captures the heart of summer’s dog days for many and provides a dash of hope for the days to come. – KH

2. blink-182 – “Feeling This”

While it isn’t blink-182’s most famous song, “Feeling This” is a great summer song with varying styles and the first hint of the band’s more mature sound. The bouncing guitar blazes past Travis barker’s amazing drumming and intertwines lyrics about a lustful relationship falling into the bedroom, constantly pushed forward by Mark Hoppus’ shouting “I’m feeling this”. The duo toy with R&B elements and pop, holding the signature fury of their signature sound at bay just long enough to build towards a final wave of pop punk the likes of which the genre as a whole hopes to create. – KS

1. Yellowcard – “Way Away”

Before the title track of Ocean Avenue would become everyone’s summer anthem in 2003, “Way Away” proceeded it as the album’s lead single. If those opening notes don’t give you chills, it’s likely a sign that you missed out on this incredible album’s heyday. LP’s drumming, Sean Mackin’s violin and Ryan Key’s belted notes of “Way away away from here I’ll be” scream to be played at full volume with the wind in your hair. Truth be told, this entire album is a summertime experience from start to finish, but “Way Away” kicks things off perfectly. – KH

by Kiel Hauck

Kiel Hauck is the editor in chief at It’s All Dead. Over the past decade, he has been a contributor for multiple online and print publications and was most recently an editor at PopMatters. Kiel currently resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife and their imaginary pet, Hand Dog. You can follow him on Twitter.